Press release 4/9/2018
Nigel Tullett in ‘Chameleon’ triumphs in Royal Windermere Yacht Club’s ‘Race Week’
The Royal Windermere Yacht Club’s third ‘race week’ of the season was characterised by very light winds yet the best sailors were out in force, showing their skill in always finding a zephyr of wind somewhere on the lake. Windermere’s renowned sailor Nigel Tullett won the Susan Crossley Trophy in his Windermere class Seventeen Foot yacht ‘Chameleon’, (photograph below) coming first in all three races in the competition for the trophy. Gavin Tullett (son) crewed in all three races.
This outstanding win was the pinnacle of the Club’s recent race week which saw three Seventeen Foot class races at the start of the week, two in the south lake and one in the north lake. The middle day saw the freshest breeze in the otherwise fairly calm conditions. ‘Chameleon’, in Nigel’s and Gavin’s hands, had good starts in all three races and won each with a very comfortable margin.
Following ‘Chameleon’ came the classic Seventeen Footer ‘Whisper’, helmed by the legendary Gay Crossley and crewed by Jim Schwerdt. ‘Whisper’ also won the Tarakee Cup for the best placed classic yacht in the series.
In the Flying 15s, there was equally stiff competition later in the week. Jockeying for first and second positions were ‘No Illusions’ and ‘Carbon Footprint’. ‘No Illusions’ (John and Roseanne Walter) won on Saturday and again in the first race on Sunday, while ‘Carbon Footprint’ (Phil Snewin and Ros Coleman) won the second race on Sunday.
The dinghies were out in force on the weekend too after being totally becalmed mid-week, with Peter Wright in his Devoti D-One and Nigel Hutchinson in his Solo sharing the honours in the two races. Nigel Hutchinson in ‘Ultra-Sonic’ won the first race on handicap, with Peter Wright coming second. The result was reversed in race two, with Peter Wright in his Devoti D-One winning the race, and Nigel Hutchinson in ‘Ultra-Sonic’ coming second. Judith Gore and Simon McVey followed closely behind in third place in both races in ‘Dream Catcher’, a GP 14.
The varied mix of yachts in the weekend’s cruiser race saw equally stiff competition, with ‘Va Voom’ (Trevor Bonson) winning in his First 21.7.
The past week has also seen the annual Belle Isle race, in which all types of dinghies competed in a clockwise course around the island. Light winds made tacking tricky up the narrow west side of the island, with Amanda Wilson showing her helming skills throughout the race and taking first place.